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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
Not even close to Pillars of The Earth or to An Endless World. Sadly, this book by Ken Follett is cheaply told, with unnecessary remarks all along. Poor taste of Follet for making his female characters suffer so much violence, especially sexual violence. His descriptions of these scenes lack art, content, and purpose.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m a Ken Follet fan. I’m not an avid reader - I’m trying to read more this year - but, ever since I read The Pillars of the Earth, I’ve been reading more of Ken Follet’s books - the Century Trilogy, the Kingsbridge series - and loving them all.
I have to say, I really liked The Evening and the Morning but, so far, it is the Ken Follet book I loved the least - still 4 stars though! The only reason: too many similarities to the original source.
The Pillars of the Earth was the first book of Ken Follet’s “Kingsbridge Series”, and the book The Evening and the Morning serves as its prequel, taking place in the same place, but a couple of centuries earlier.
The characters from both books - although different people from different centuries - seemed the same. And for that reason alone: I liked the book but didn’t love it.
What I enjoyed most about the book was reading about life in the turn of the 10th to 11th centuries. It’s not a particularly common age authors tend to write about, I believe mainly because there isn’t as much information about it as other ages, making it harder to research. I enjoyed learning more about this particular time. To realize how life and quality of life changed so much after the Romans left the British Isles, and other people like the Saxons and the Vikings started to invade. To the point where a lot of knowledge seemed lost in the Middle Ages - for example in ways of construction. It was a difficult time: war, constant invasions, famine. Surviving was the priority. But by the turn of the millennia, that will start to change, and it's interesting to see that in the book.
Ken Follet’s writing is impeccable. The detailed yet familiar way he describes the surroundings, the characters, their development, is amazing to read. We feel like we are in the story. I love history and historical fiction, especially European History, so it’s always interesting to read books like these, and Ken Follet makes it easy and enjoyable even for someone like me - who does not read a lot - to binge-read a 500-1000 tome!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence
Another 5 star Kingsbridge novel. My favorite thing about these books is how the female characters show so much strength and creativity despite living in near-impossible times. Also, Follett is master of the slowest of slow burn romance
It is the first Ken Follett book I have read. And I loved it. The plot is amazing, the writing incredible. The length of it feels to me like a story you can dive into for a long time, and you never want it to end.
No offense to Follett, but he's written 4 Kingsbridge books by now, and everyone of them follows the same general outline, the 2 main characters are always in love but not allowed to be together because of reasons. Despite this repetition on a theme, his books are always consistently enjoyable. As a prequel it's no real surprise that the main village turns out to be Kingsbridge, but another look into a different era of Europe's development is interesting and enjoyable to dive back into as Follett takes us into a decade just after the Dark Ages and shows readers life as brutish and short as it was in those times.
Awesome read, characters are still very painting like the rest of the series, but super fun historical fiction.
Ken Follett never disappoints with his Knightsbridge tales.
Mais um épico do Ken Follett. E assim sendo é inevitável a comparação com os demais. E só porque eu gostei mais de Os Pilares da Terra dei 4 estrelas para O Crepúsculo e a Aurora. Tendo dito isso, o livro é excelente. Personagens marcantes e história bem contada. A fibra moral de Edgar em plena idade medieval é certamente à frente do tempo. A inteligência e determinação de Ragna e suas ações nada convencionais fazem dela uma feminista adorável. Já o monge Aldred é resiliente e um tanto quanto justo. Sua artimanhas fazem dele um perfeito religioso.
Recomendo!
Recomendo!
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes